Monday, October 31, 2011

Who Smeared Herman Cain?

Last night, a report emerged that Herman Cain may have paid off two women concerning allegations of sexual harassment. The sources for the story were kept anonymous, the leads were thin, and no evidence was produced. More concerning, the payoffs were supposedly kept hush-hush (that is, sealed).

Today, Cain denied ever sexually harassing anyone (except his wife) but did acknowledge that false accusations had been leveled some 15-20 years ago while he was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA). Concerning the alleged "settlements" paid out, Cain said he knew of none and that if the NRA had done so it was without his participation.

The question is, Who put this out to the media? Was it Mitt Romney, he most likely to benefit from a Cain fall? Was it Rick Perry, labeled by many a dirty player? I think not. I believe it was Barack Obama.

It would not be the first time that Obama has done such a thing. During his 2004 Senate race, Obama managed to have revealed the sealed divorce records for primary challenger Blair Hull and general challenger, Republican Jack Ryan. And don't forget that when Obama ran for Illinois State Senate his primary opponents were all disqualified for one reason or another. This is Obama's modus operandi.

Meanwhile Barack Obama has resisted and rejected every effort to make public his school records, his health records, even his financial records. And let's not forget how long it took to get his birth certificate.

I believe that Obama is behind the personal attacks against not only Cain but also Marco Rubio. A black or Hispanic conservative is a threat to the image carefully groomed by the progressive Left that "minorities" must vote Democrat. It busts apart the unthinking cliche that Democrats are the saviors of the oppressed and middle class. But more than that, it marks a contrast between racial politics and character politics.

What about the ineptness of Eric Holder? No, nothing on that. Only that Allen West, another black conservative Republican, is "rude" for his outspokenness. In actuality, they are calling West "uppity" while making Holder's arrogance "good politics."

This double standard is not new, and I was not born yesterday. But simply because the Democrats "always do this" or that the media is in the tank for them doesn't mean that we should let them get away with it.